Microsoft and Uber both competing over Nokia's HERE Maps, report says

It looks like Nokia's attempt to drive up interest in its HERE Maps service is working. A new report from Bloomberg reveals that both Uber and Microsoft, among others, have made offers for the Finnish company's mapping division.

According to several anonymous insiders, Uber is teaming up with Baidu in an attempt to buy HERE Maps. Meanwhile, Microsoft is apparently interested in purchasing a minority stake in the service. Nokia isn't fielding any new bids for another two weeks though, so it could be a while before the company comes to a final decision.

According to an earlier Bloomberg report a number of other companies may be interested in buying HERE Maps. The list includes Apple, Amazon, Alibaba and a group of German carmakers. Nokia is apparently asking for roughly $3.2 billion.

HERE Maps is a pretty great alternative to Google Maps, and it could give a company like Uber the chance to reduce its reliance on the search giant. An automaker could do the same thing, baking the service into its own infotainment system. Meanwhile, Microsoft could use Nokia's data to improve Bing Maps.

At the moment, Nokia seems pretty interested in selling HERE Maps. That doesn't mean a deal will necessarily happen, but at this point it looks more likely than not.